Using Input from Landlords Participating in the Dothan Housing Authority\u27s Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) to Streamline Operations and Increase Retention

The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) is a public-private partnership between a landlord, voucher holder, and a Public Housing Authority (PHA). However, this public-private partnership appears to be a two-sided partnership instead of a three-way partnership as the HCVP was designed. Over 110,000 landlords have withdrawn from the HCVP since 2009, which has negatively affected housing choices for voucher holders. This phenomenon of landlords leaving the HCVP is a catastrophe problem for the rental housing crisis that is a part of the larger affordable housing crisis. The perception of institutional bureaucracy for landlords is their reality, and the unintended consequence is the price of bureaucracy. This quantitative research study evaluated landlords’ opinions regarding their feelings toward streamlining the operations of the HCVP through technology and if this will increase their retention. This research study chose the convenience sampling of landlords, who are experiential stakeholders in the HCVP. Each landlord participant of the study had an active Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract with the Dothan Housing Authority (DHA) and had been a landlord for at least one year. The descriptive statistics research study provided an objective analysis of the landlords’ opinions at the DHA through an online closed-ended survey. This dissertation addressed the gap in research to better understand landlords’ important role through their opinions as experiential stakeholders in the HCVP. This dissertation study also added empirical knowledge by addressing the research gap to create recommendations for policy solutions to retain the landlords\u27 participation in the HCVP